While on the way to eat at Tucci’s Pizza in Boca Raton, I remembered that a new place took the spot where La Pizza used to be. The closing of La Pizza was something I wasn’t happy with, but nothing I could do. All I could hope for was that a new place that cares as much as he did would open.

Casino’s Pizza appears to be open by a family out of the New England area. That is based upon the accents of the pizza guy. Wonder when the walls here will be adorned with Patriot and Red Sox paraphernalia, like the rest of the places whose owners originate from that area. For now, they have 3 photos of Robert Deniro though.

When I first walked into Casino’s Pizza, I was eyed up and down from the girl behind the register. It was quite uncomfortable, and I sure hope she doesn’t do this type of stare down with every patron who enters the joint. It is bad enough everyone else in Boca Raton has to “boca scan” each other, to immediately size them up. After ordering my slice, I was informed that a fresh pie was coming out of the oven for slices, and it would be about 7 minutes. This gave me ample time to look around and take some notes.

Casino’s, for some odd reason built this type of state, or large pedestal, where the pizza maker resides. This completely restricts the view of the pizza and how he is making it, since the counter top goes up to their chest area. Could it be they are hiding something back there, or why wouldn’t they want to show the way they make their pies? It is really an odd construction, and it is something they had specifically built for themselves, since La Pizza didn’t contain this abnormal pizza making pedestal. People like me, enjoy watching their pies being made. This is not something Casino’s enables me to do.

It was also during this wait time that I realized they have “deep dish” pizza, which I suppose is Chicago style. Cannot wait to go back and try this, since Giovanni’s is the only other place around town that offers it. When the pie came out they told me it needed some time to cool down, and then they would bring a slice over. This scored some points with me, cause a fresh pie could turn into a mess as they slice it and put it on a plate.

When the slice came, I took my first bite. Gotta tell you, it was pretty good. The cheese tasted great, and most likely was Grande or some other high quality cheese. The sauce was sweet and pretty smooth. The crust tasted great but had a little bit of sogginess to it. This was obviously due to how fresh out of the oven it still was.

All-in-all I was impressed with my first experience at Casino’s and I will most likely go back soon, when Tucci’s doesn’t use its magnetism to pull me in as I drive by. Please make sure you realize, Casino’s is a typical pizza joint, while places like Tucci’s are coal/wood burning. Two very different types of pizza.